Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil
- Автор: Зан Тимоти
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Random House
- ISBN: 9781473596580
- Жанр: Боевая фантастика
Электронная книга - «Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil». Краткое содержание книги:
“Yes, sir,” Thalias said, and out of the corner of his eye Samakro saw her take hold of Che’ri’s arm and turn them both toward the door. One of their escort warriors opened it and gestured them through, then followed, closing the door behind him.
“And now, Mid Captain,” Ba’kif said as Samakro eased himself into the witness chair, “let’s start with Senior Captain Thrawn’s decision to put an alien into hibernation aboard the Springhawk.”
For once, Thalias thought glumly as the second hour ticked over into the third, the waiting itself wasn’t the hardest part. Here, it was the uncertainty of what was happening down the hallway and what was going to be done to Mid Captain Samakro that weighed most heavily on her heart and soul.
That, plus the knowledge that whatever happened to him, it was ultimately her fault. Hers, and Che’ri’s.
The most frustrating aspect was the knowledge that everything that had happened—everything she, Che’ri, Samakro, and Thrawn had done—had worked. Every bit of it. The Magys’s presence aboard the Springhawk had helped undercut and then defeat the Agbui’s attempts to precipitate a civil war; Rapacc and the Paccosh had been saved from the Kilji attack; and Thrawn and the Paccosh had driven away yet another attempt to enslave or kill more of Sunrise’s people. What more could Ba’kif and the Council want?
She let out a silent sigh. They wanted order, of course. Order, and obedience to protocols that had guided the Ascendancy for centuries. They wanted the Chiss to be detached from the Chaos and everyone in it. They wanted to not care if the people out there suffered or died when the Ascendancy could have helped them.
Those people were, after all, just aliens.
Beside her, Che’ri stirred and looked at the door leading to the corridor. Thalias looked, too, tensing.
But it wasn’t Samakro who appeared, merely a young officer striding briskly along on some Council business. Out of the corner of her eye Thalias saw Che’ri wilt a little and return to staring at the floor. “You might as well relax,” Thalias advised her. “Sometimes Third Sight just gives you the general knowledge that someone’s coming but not the specifics of who it is.”
“It used to,” Che’ri said, her voice quiet and gloomy. “I used to be able to see everything.”
“Yes, I remember,” Thalias said, thinking back to her own days as a sky-walker. “But there’s a difference between distinguishing a star from a planet or large asteroid.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Che’ri said. “I was talking about when the Magys was … you know. The nightmares.”
Thalias eyed her closely. Up to now Che’ri had avoided offering any details of those dreams. “What exactly did you see?”
“I saw attacks,” the girl said, her voice shaking with remembered pain. “People getting hurt. People getting …” She trailed off.
“Getting killed?” Thalias asked gently.
“Yes,” Che’ri said. “Or no. It was confusing.”
“That’s what war is like,” Thalias reminded her. “Some people die, others don’t.”
“No,” Che’ri said, shaking her head. “I meant some of the people were getting killed but they weren’t dying.”
Thalias frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t, either,” Che’ri admitted. “It was like they were there, but not … you know?”
“Alive?” Thalias asked. A sudden thought struck her—“Or do you mean they were alive, but not in their bodies?”
“I don’t know,” Che’ri said. “Maybe.”
“I see,” Thalias said, a shiver running through her. So we will therefore die, and touch the Beyond, the Magys had said when speaking of her willingness to let her fellow refugees die. And through the Beyond bring healing to our world.
“Then later it was even … I don’t know. Clearer,” Che’ri said. “I could see the Guardian in danger from those ships, and knew we had to go save him—”
“Wait a minute,” Thalias interrupted, frowning again. “I don’t understand. The Springhawk and Senior Captain Thrawn wouldn’t even have been at Sunrise without you taking us to Rapacc. How could he have been in danger?”
“Not Sunrise,” Che’ri said. “Before that, like you said. At the Guardian’s planet, Rapacc.”
“The Guardian’s—?” Thalias broke off. “Che’ri, who exactly is the Guardian you and the Magys talk about?”
“I told you already,” Che’ri said, sounding puzzled. “Uingali.”
“Oh,” Thalias managed, feeling both embarrassed and stupid. When Che’ri first talked about the Guardian, she’d naturally assumed it was Thrawn. “No, I don’t think you’d mentioned that before. That’s okay, I’m with you now. So you saw Uingali in danger, so you drove the Springhawk to Rapacc. Did you then also see the ships at Sunrise and know Senior Captain Thrawn would need our help?”
“Yes,” Che’ri said, starting to sound a little frustrated. “Well, no, I didn’t see it. The Magys saw it. Through me. Somehow.”
“It’s okay,” Thalias soothed, patting her knee. “I know some things are really hard to put into words.”
“It’s not just that,” Che’ri said. “It’s that … I’m scared, Thalias. The Magys wants me to keep doing it, and I’m … scared.”
“It’s okay,” Thalias said again. “Don’t worry, we won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“But she says I need to,” Che’ri said. “She says the only way we can win battles is if we work together to—” She broke off, turning her head again to look at the door. Thalias followed her gaze, expecting another false alarm.
But this time it wasn’t. The door opened and Mid Captain Samakro stepped into view, followed by the other two warriors who’d brought them from the shuttle. Samakro spotted her and Che’ri and headed over, the warriors staying close but making no effort to stop him.
Thalias took a deep breath. And now, it was her and Che’ri’s turn.
“You two look bored out of your minds,” Samakro commented as he arrived, giving them a smile that was probably supposed to look casual.
“Oh, no, it’s really quite exciting out here,” Thalias assured him, trying for the same casual attitude and missing just as badly.
“Is it over?” Che’ri asked anxiously.
“Not even close,” Samakro said. “They still need to interview some of the other officers and review the ship’s records. But my part is done, at least for today.”
He gestured at Thalias. “So is yours. Supreme General Ba’kif has decided to postpone their conversations with you until after they’ve talked to everyone else.”
“I see,” Thalias said, trying to decide whether being at the end of the line was good or bad. “So Che’ri and I can go back to the ship?”
“You can if you want,” Samakro said. “Or you could stay here on Csilla. You’ve already got your bags packed—I’d hate to see all that effort go to waste.”
“What would we do?” Che’ri asked.
“Anything you wanted,” Samakro said, his smile looking more genuine this time. “There’s a lot to see and do on Csilla, you know. The lieutenant at the reception desk will give you a credit chit good at any hotel, restaurant, or entertainment center anywhere on the planet, for as long as you need it.”